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Earlier this year McDonald's announced that its CEO Don Thompson was stepping down after one of the iconic burger chain's worst years on record. The very next day, Shake Shack, a scrappy young burger cart turned global restaurant chain with something of a cult following, announced the value of its initial public offering had increased to $675 million. While Shake Shack's value pales in comparison to McDonald's longstanding multi-billion dollar business, it's a signal of changing restaurant trends, especially among millennial diners.
Shake Shack is one of several emerging "fast-casual" restaurants like Panera, Five Guys and Chipotle that appeal to millennial diners with elevated, healthier, ethical and more sustainable food experiences. Shake Shake and McDonald's both serve burgers, but that's where similarities end.
Shake Shack, for example, prides itself on building eco-friendly restaurants out of recyclable and sustainable materials, paying employees well above minimum wage and serving only hormone-free, vegetarian-fed, humanely-raised beef. Chipotle also sources sustainable food products and recently made waves when it removed pork carnitas from the menu in locations throughout the country because its supplier did not meet the chain's ethical standard.
Meanwhile, traditional fast food and fast-casual restaurants like McDonald's are falling under fire for questionable ingredients, labor issues and antibiotic-ridden chicken. The company launched its transparency campaign in the U.S. (already successfully rolled out in Canada and Australia) to address customers' concerns about what is in their food, but it has been met with skepticism.
Despite attempts to appeal to diners with fresh menus and new marketing campaigns, restaurants like McDonald's are losing footing with millennial diners. In fact, according to NPR, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, TGIFridays, IHOP, Applebee's and Chili's combined are worth less than Chipotle. While it could be a sign of the end for some, other traditional fast food restaurants are trying to pivot to keep pace with front runners like Chipotle.
Taco Bell, for example, is testing its own fast casual concept Taco Co. in California. The restaurant is a far cry from Taco Bell's $0.99 value menu, selling tacos featuring Mahi Mahi, lobster, brisket and more for up to $7 each. Will it work?
We won't likely see any of the major fast food brands slip away any time soon, but they will have to reinvent their offerings to appeal to a new generation of diners. According to restaurant industry experts, the best ways to appeal to millennial diners are to imitate fast casual concepts, provide ample build-your-own customization options, accept mobile payments, offer artisan beer and wine on site, and appeal to their desire to minimize environmental impact by using recycled materials and sustainably sourced ingredients.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the use of food additives like preservatives, colors, sweeteners, fat replacers, emulsifiers and other ingredients added to food to maintain or improve safety, freshness, nutritional value, taste, texture and appearance. Food additives can be direct (those added for a specific purpose) or indirect (those added in trace amounts due to packaging, storage or handling) and are determined safe for market use only after stringent FDA review.
Due to the FDA's regulation of food additives, most people assume that if food is on grocery store shelves, it must be 100 percent safe for human consumption. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. As the FDA states: "Because of inherent limitations of science, FDA can never be absolutely certain of the absence of any risk from the use of any substance." In fact, several food additives approved for use in the U.S. by the FDA are banned in other parts of the world.
So if you think everything in your pantry is safe to eat, think again. Here are 6 common food additives found in the U.S. that are banned in other countries.
Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
- Use: whitening or bleaching agent for cereal flour and as a dough conditioner in baking; also used to make rubber products like yoga mats and shoe soles
- Concerns: During baking ADA breaks down to form new chemicals, one of which, semicarbizide (SEM), is known to increase the incidence of tumors in lab rats.
- Banned: European Union
- Use: improves gluten content in baked goods to strengthen dough and promote rising
- Concerns: Studies dating back to 1982 have found that potassium bromate used in bromated flour causes cancer in lab rats and is "possibly carcinogenic to humans"
- Banned: European Union, Canada, Brazil, Peru, China
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
- Use: added to citrus drinks like Mountain Dew to keep flavor evenly distributed; also used as a flame retardant
- Concerns: nervous system depressant, endocrine disruptor, causes reproductive and behavioral problems
- Banned: Europe and Japan
- Use: fat-free fat replacer in foods like potato chips
- Concerns: gastrointestinal distress and diarrhea; interferes with absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
- Banned: U.K. and Canada
- Use: feed additive given to livestock to reduce fat content in meat
- Concerns: known to affect the human cardiovascular system, increase hyperactivity, and cause chromosomal abnormalities and behavioral changes
- Banned: 160 countries (including Russia, China, Taiwan)
Recombinant Bovine growth hormone (rBGH)
- Use: artificial growth hormone given to cows to increase milk production
- Concerns: increased risk of breast and prostate cancer
- Banned: European Union, Canada, Japan, Australia
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In a story released this week, Keurig K-cup inventor John Sylvan, who sold his shares of the company for $50,000 back in 1997, admits he regrets ever creating the disposable plastic coffee pods that built what is today a $4.7 billion business. With an estimated nine to 13 billion plastic K-cups hitting landfills last year, Sylvan admits, “I feel bad sometimes that I ever did it."
Pod-based coffee makers like Keurig, designed to create customizable single-serve coffees from plastic pods filled with coffee grounds, can be found in one-third of American households. That pervasiveness is generating a lot of leftover pods that end up in landfills.
Keurig was acquired by eco-friendly coffee producer Green Mountain in 2006, combining names in 2014. While every spin-off coffee pod product produced since the merger (including Vue, Bolt and K-Carafe cups) is recyclable, the company's biggest seller, the original K-cup product made from plastic #7, is not.
When Keurig Green Mountain's design patent on the foil-topped plastic coffee pod expired in 2012, the market was flooded with competing options, many of which are biodegradable or reusable, raising the question: Why won't Keurig Green Mountain follow suit?
According to Keurig Green Mountain's Chief Sustainability Officer Monique Oxender, they're working on it. The company has committed to making all K-cups recyclable by 2020, but concerned citizens say it's not fast enough. A petition set up by the creators of the viral Kill the K-Cup video urges Keurig to expedite the development of their recycling program and has been signed by more than 20,000 people. According to Sylvan, it won't happen any time soon. “No matter what they say about recycling," he said, "those things will never be recyclable."
Supporters of pod-based coffee makers would argue that's not such a bad thing considering the machines require less electricity than traditional brew pots and extract coffee more efficiently from less grounds, saving on the resources required to produce the water-intensive crop.
Coffee is a staple in the American diet and won't be going away any time soon. It offers a slew of health benefits and, most importantly, the jolt of caffeine so many have come to rely on. So what's the most eco-friendly coffee brewing option? According to Murray Carpenter, author of Caffeinated, the answer is, unfortunately, instant coffee.
If abandoning the convenience of your single-serve Keurig for more sustainable instant coffee is out of the question, there are other options. Keurig Green Mountain's Grounds to Grow On program collects used pods turning the grounds into fertilizer and burning the cups for energy. Another company, Terracycle, sells zero-waste boxes where you can collect coffee pods to ship back for recycling.
As for Sylvan, he says he has a solution to Keurig's waste problem but that the company won't listen. As they embark on their own 2020 recycling initiative, he has started a new company Zonbak selling solar panels, in part to offset the negative environmental impact of his K-cup invention.
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Emulsifiers approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are commonly added to processed foods to improve texture, increase shelf life and prevent oils and fats from separating. You'll see them listed on ingredient labels as polysorbate 80, lecithin, carrageenan, polyglycerols, xanthan and other gums in everything from bread and cookies to salad dressings, ice cream, non-dairy milks and more. Emulsifiers are also utilized to reduce or remove trans fats and gluten from low-fat, dairy-free and gluten-free items marketed as "health" foods and can appear in organic and non-GMO labeled foods as well. As pervasive as they are in packaged foods, could emulsifiers be causing health concerns?
A recent study concludes that dietary emulsifiers promote inflammatory diseases in mice by interfering with beneficial microbiota in the gut. According to researchers, dietary emulsifiers disrupt the mucus layer separating beneficial microbiota from epithelial cells of the intestinal wall, resulting in increased bacterial translocation and inflammation of the gut.
In the study, mice were administered polysorbate 80 (commonly found in ice cream) and carboxymethylcellulose through food at water at levels comparable to those approved for use in human food. The experiment caused chronic colitis in mice predisposed to the disorder and low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome in mice with normal immune systems, which can lead to overeating, obesity, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance.
According to the researchers, while gastrointestinal inflammation caused by consuming dietary emulsifiers is not the sole contributor to the rise in obesity, their increased use in the food supply does roughly parallel the increase in chronic inflammatory diseases that can interfere with satiety and lead to overeating and obesity.
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Americans consume 16 billion quarts of popcorn each year, and with Oscar buzz driving more moviegoers into theaters to see award nominees and winners from last week, expect to see a lot of it consumed in front of the big screen. Although theater popcorn has a long held reputation as an unhealthy junk food (a medium tub of theater popcorn clocks in at 1,200 calories and 60 grams of fat), one company has set out to return popcorn to its rightful place as a healthy whole grain by creating a smarter theater snack option.
PoppinOlive was created by Cynthia Vickery who grew up serving popcorn in her father’s movie theaters. The product was created as a healthier alternative to concession stand selections and is inspired by her mother’s own at-home popcorn recipe.
“I wanted people to have a choice when they went to the movie theaters, a healthy choice,” said Vickery in an interview with ABC.
Unlike traditional theater popcorn that’s cooked in saturated fat like palm oil (dyed yellow to give the final product its signature bright color) and then topped with an artificial butter-flavored blend of soybean oil that contains diacetyl, PoppinOlive popcorn is popped in a blend of pure extra virgin olive oil imported from Greece and then sprinkled with salt.
Could this healthy alternative to traditional tubs of heart-stopping fat and sodium soon be coming to a theater near you? It's currently available at select theaters throughout Michigan, but Vickery hopes to reach even more locations.
“My goal is really to expand to stadiums, other movie theaters,” Vickery told ABC. “I want everyone to enjoy this healthy alternative popcorn where they go.”
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A scientist in the Netherlands is turning plant waste into a potential substitute for environmentally unsustainable proteins like meat, dairy and soy. The Dutch government commissioned Peter Geerdink, a food scientist at TNO, to identify a use for the 3 million tons of beet sugar leaves produced each year and left to rot after the beets themselves are harvested. The result of his work is a vegan gluten-free plant-based protein extracted from the pressed green juice of sugar beet leaves that, according to Geedink, is as versatile as a chicken egg.
The amount of land and water required to raise livestock puts a major strain on our air and water quality and ocean health by depleting resources and ramping up greenhouse gas emissions regionally and globally. In fact, eating less meat and dairy has been identified as a factor in curbing climate change.
Joining a number of meat and dairy alternatives on the market today, Geerdink's new sugar beet leaf protein could be processed in many ways as a substitute for animal proteins. "It can be used as a substitute for soy in veggie burgers, for example. But I’ve also made delicious cookies with it," he said. "There’s not much flavor to the protein itself, but the protein adds a texture to veggie burgers that is lacking with soy, and which makes for a much beefier bite."
So will you be seeing sugar beet protein on store shelves in the U.S. any time soon? Geerdink thinks it's unlikely, saying it will be a few years before it even appears in supermarkets in the Netherlands.
What about sugar beets themselves? Here in the U.S. sugar beets are among the top genetically modified crops with 90 percent of sugar beet crops being GMO. While the Dutch sugar beet leaf protein scientist doubts sugar beets are fit for human consumption, they are processed into sugar sold in the U.S.
The highly controversial crop was introduced in 2005 with Monsanto's Roundup-Ready sugar beet seeds which were then banned in 2010 by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White pending a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study on the potential consequences of the plants. The ban was lifted after Monsanto successful argued before the Supreme Court for the USDA to partially deregulate GMO sugar beets while the study is completed. In 2012, the USDA approved genetically modified sugar beets for agricultural use, and they account for more than half of all sugar production in the U.S. today.
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Contrary to the old adage, an apple a day may not keep the doctor away. According to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) 2015 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, apples topped the list as the most pesticide-contaminated produce for the fifth year in a row. Peaches and nectarines round out the top three "dirtiest" foods while avocados, sweet corn and pineapples are among the cleanest. EWG's annual Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists rank fruits and vegetables according to pesticide residue levels reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Despite growing consumer demand for pesticide-free fruits and vegetables evident in increased organic food sales, pesticides were found on nearly two-thirds of the 3,015 produce samples tested by the USDA, even in some cases after they had been washed and peeled.
"The bottom line is people do not want to eat pesticides with their fruits and vegetables," said Ken Cook, EWG's president and cofounder. "That's why we will continue telling shoppers about agricultural chemicals that turn up on their produce, and we hope we will inform, and ultimately, empower them to eat cleaner."
165 different pesticides were identified on the USDA food samples with 99 percent of apples, 98 percent of peaches and 97 percent of nectarines testing positive for at least one residue. Cherry tomatoes, grapes, snap peas and potatoes were also among the most contaminated with potatoes averaging more pesticides by weight than any other produce. For the third year in a row, EWG also expanded the Dirty Dozen list with a Plus category to include hot peppers and leafy greens that contain trace amounts of highly hazardous pesticides, including organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Acephate, chlorpyrifos and oxamyl (highly toxic insecticides) are banned on some crops but still permitted on hot peppers. And although pesticides DDE and dieldrin were banned years ago, residue from agricultural soils is still found on leafy greens grown today.
Pesticides have been linked to a number of negative impacts on the environment and human health, including depression and suicide in farmers, decreasing bee populations and increased risk of Parkinson's disease. A recent study found lower pesticide levels in people who eat organic food, and EWG confirms that the best way for consumers to avoid pesticides in food is to purchase organic produce if possible. If food accessibility or financial restrictions limit access to organic foods, the Clean 15 list highlights produce with the lowest levels of pesticide exposure and is also a good option.
“We are saying, eat your fruits and vegetables,” said Sonya Lunder, EWG’s senior analyst. “But know which ones have the highest amounts of pesticides so you can opt for the organic versions, if available and affordable, or grab a snack off the Clean Fifteen.”
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Every five years the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans undergo a stringent review before being updated and re-released with new information based on the latest available research. An initial review of the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released last week with recommendations from a 14-person expert advisory panel and is now open for public comment.
"For decades, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been at the core of our efforts to promote the health and well-being of American families," said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a joint statement. "Now that the advisory committee has completed its recommendations, HHS and USDA will review this advisory report, along with comments from the public—including other experts—and input from other federal agencies as we begin the process of updating the guidelines."
For the first time since its inception in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has proposed landmark recommendations that consider the greater impact of American eating habits on environmental sustainability.
"The environmental impact of food production is considerable and if natural resources such as land, water and energy are not conserved and managed optimally, they will be strained and potentially lost," the committee says in Part D Chapter 5 of the 2015 recommendations. “Meeting current and future food needs will depend on two concurrent approaches: altering individual and population dietary choices and patterns and developing agricultural and production practices that reduce environmental impacts and conserve resources, while still meeting food and nutrition needs.”
The report finds that, “A diet higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in calories and animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet.”
The committee highlights standards of environmentally sustainable dietary guidance found in countries like Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia and Brazil, which focus on “decreasing meat consumption, choosing seafood from non-threatened stocks, eating more plants and plant-based products, reducing energy intake, and reducing waste.”
Because the USDA Dietary Guidelines are used to setting nutrition standards for major institutions and schools, this year’s added focus on the environmental sustainability of food production and consumption could have a major trickle down impact on American buying behavior.
“The identification of dietary patterns that are sustainable is a first step toward driving consumer behavior change and demand and supply-chain changes,” said the committee.
But as Marion Nestle points out in her Food Politics blog, not everyone is happy that the USDA is considering sustainability in its guidelines. Nestle says, "Predictably, this did not go over well with the meat industry or, for that matter, other industries affected by such advice or groups funded by such industries."
For Nestle, the basic advice offered by 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee boils down to plain common sense:
- Eat plenty of foods from plant sources
- Eat foods from animal sources in moderation
- Balance calories
- Avoid overeating junk food
The Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans remains open for public comment until April 8, and an oral comment meeting will be held on March 24.
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Ask anyone who eats organic food why they do it and they'll likely have a list of reasons: it's better for your body, better for the planet and arguably better tasting. And now, they'll have a new list to recite: the top 10 most organic cities in America.
Campbell Soup Company, in partnership with Sperling’s Best Places, announced a list of the top 10 most organic cities in America to promote its new line of six organic soups. According to Dow Jones Business News, “Sluggish sales of canned and boxed foods” resulted in a 6 percent drop in sales for the company’s ready-to-eat soups last year. And with 81 percent of American families buying organic foods at least sometimes, Campbell’s new organic soup options represent a direct response to consumer demand.
“Organic eating is a priority for many Americans, and we want to make sure that those who choose to eat organic—no matter where they live—have options that are both authentic and delicious,” said Leah Dunmore, vice president of soup at Campbell Soup Company. “We’ve combined high-quality ingredients with the delicious flavor people expect from our products to bring taste without compromise to soup aisles nationwide.”
So where exactly is the highest demand for organic food around the country? If visions of vast farmland and amber waves of grain blowing through the heartland come to mind, think again. Eight of the 10 top cities for organic eating are located along the coasts.
Campbell's used a marketing spin to point out that seven out of the 10 cities are (conveniently) located in cold-weather markets where hot organic soup will be in high demand, but it's also worth noting that half of the cities are listed among the richest cities in America—a reminder that financial restrictions limit access to organic foods.
So did your city make the cut? Here are the top 10 most organic cities in America:
- Portland, OR
- San Francisco, CA
- Providence, RI
- Sacramento, CA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Boston, MA
- Seattle, WA
- Austin, TX
- Philadelphia, PA
- Washington, DC
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Since 1990, mandatory nutrition fact labeling on packaged food products in the U.S. has made it easier for consumers to shop for foods based on dietary restrictions and nutritional requirements. But just because a food bears a healthy nutrition label doesn't mean it was ethically or sustainably produced.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Organic label is the gold standard for identifying foods that preserve natural resources and biodiversity, support animal health and welfare, and do not use genetically modified ingredients. But with three different USDA Organic label designations and another 19 third-party organic labels, discerning what's what is confusing for consumers. And while nearly 75 percent of grocery stores are stocked with organic products, organic foods made up just more than 4 percent of total food sales in the U.S. in 2012, leaving consumers with questions about how to decode what went into the other 96 percent of products that lack the label.
For guidance on what went into packaged food products (beyond just ingredients), consumers can turn to third-party mobile apps to help navigate the grocery aisle. Here are six apps you might want to check out:
Non-GMO Project Shopping Guide: With no government mandated labeling of GMOs in the US, the Non-GMO Project is the only third-party verification that certifies and labels products that are free of genetically modified organisms. With the mobile application, consumers can search verified Non-GMO Project foods by type, brand, product or keyword.
EWG Food Scores: The Environmental Working Group Food Scores app rates products according to nutrition, ingredient and processing, helping consumers identify products that contain pesticides, additives and antibiotics of concern.
Choco-locate: The Choco-locate app helps you hunt down sweet treats by location and flavor preference but also allows users to filter based on products that meet fair trade ethical standards of production.
Good Fish Guide: Described as the definitive guide to sustainable seafood, this app created by the Marine Conservation Society shows consumers whether or not a fish comes from well managed sustainable farms or stocks.
Certified Humane: This app helps consumers identify products and restaurants that uphold stringent Certified Humane® standards of farm animal treatment from birth to slaughter.
Buycott: This app encourages consumers to vote for social change with their wallets by joining campaigns to help a cause by avoiding those products that oppose its ethical standard.
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